Some Cannot Be Healed
by Asrafel
Summary: Broken in mind and body after her mission fails, Hinote Amara sets forth to rebuild Konoha and herself, only to find reconstruction impossible, unless she can forgive the man she believes is responsible for the death of her best friend: Hatake Kakashi.


**Author:** Asrafel  
**Category:** Action/Adventure/Drama – and just a dash of angst  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers:** Episode 80(ish) - and up to the time gap (including Kakashi's story) in the manga  
**Summary:** Broken in mind and body after her mission fails, Hinote Amara sets forth to rebuild Konoha and herself, only to find reconstruction impossible, unless she can forgive the man she believes is responsible for the death of her best friend: Hatake Kakashi.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto – but I owe many thanks to the brilliant Masashi Kishimoto (for giving me hours and hours of entertainment. )

* * *

_They're catching up._

Branches stung as they whipped her cheeks and clawed mercilessly at her clothing, like the fangs of rabid wolves. Her breathing was fast and shallow, and her limbs screamed protestations as she picked up the pace and darted faster through the trees.

_I'm almost there. Please…don't let it be too late. Hokage-sama…I've failed in everything so far…  
__  
…don't let me have failed in this too._

Just beyond the lush foliage of the forest she could make out the outer ring wall of Konoha rising like a beacon, calling her forward and filling her with renewed determination. Likely, the strain she was putting on her body…after being in a state of questioning for so long…would kill her - but she didn't care. Without slowing her strides she spat out a wad of blood, wincing as her shattered ribs forcefully reminded her that even breathing was a chore. To come so far only to die now – the god of death would have to postpone his visit a few hours longer. He couldn't have her yet.

As she neared the wall a sudden explosion shook the forest, throwing her violently from the branch she'd just landed on. With ground rushing towards her, she barely had time to pull her body around, but her reflexes had dulled. She hit the ground with her knees and pitched forward, the world turning white for an instant.

In that moment, she felt weightless. All of the pain had dissipated, and she was floating…carelessly…

Another ground-shaking explosion forced her back into the present. She would see this mission through until the end, or she was worse than the trash that had betrayed Konoha.

Fuelled by a mounting anger, she pushed herself up to her knees, the pain making black spots dance before her eyes. This was her village. This was the only home she'd ever known…and they'd welcomed her…a stranger…with open arms. _I am indebted to them in ways I cannot even begin to repay._ _But this will have to do…for now._

Behind her, she could sense the chakra of four ninjas…all of whom were easily at the jounin level, if her estimations were correct.

_Did Kabuto send them? But...he's been gone for weeks…he couldn't possibly know…_

With a surge of energy, she launched herself into a nearby bush, and readied her remaining three kunais with explosive seals. _It seems I may have offended the god of death by evading him this long, _she mused. A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her lips. _With luck, I'll at least be able to slow this group down._

She waited, her breathing labored, despite her attempts to quiet it. She had no hope of concealing herself, not in this state. The stench of blood and her erratic heartbeat would give her away in an instant.

Time stretched, until suddenly, the chakra was right above her. She looked up, about to let her kunais fly, but the four ninjas passed over her without so much as a glance. They stopped at the wall, however, and she saw, to her surprise, that they were not from the Sound as she'd previously suspected. These were Sand shinobi.

"So it's begun?" The shortest of the group asked, sounding irritated. "Then where is that idiot, Daigo? He was supposed to meet us here."

"Patience, Reiji. Daigo will come. He has probably met with some – interference."

This was spoken by the taller one to the right of the first speaker, and his face was entirely covered with a veil. His voice, however, sent chills down her spine.

It was everything for her not to try to kill them all at that moment. Those Sand bastards had betrayed Konoha…their allies…and if she had not been found out…she could have prevented this attack. Guilt swelled in her as fiercely as the pain. But she stayed motionless. There was still a chance to get to the Hokage in time, if it had only just begun.

Suddenly, with speed faster then her eyes could register, a fifth person appeared amongst the four Sand ninjas. What she first noticed, however, made her blood boil…because that person…likely, that _Daigo_…was dressed as one of the Konoha ANBU. Sunlight glinted off of the porcelain mask, but most of its bone-whiteness was already covered with crimson stains. Konoha blood.

"Late as usual, Daigo" the short one snapped. "What about the plan? Do you want to see us get killed?"

"Your blood-lust will get you killed before I do," Daigo replied calmly, his voice slightly muffled by the mask. "Because it seems you haven't noticed the person hiding in the bushes behind you. They're half-dead, but their intent to kill is unmistakable."

All four turned as one to face the bushes, but Daigo held up a hand. "I will deal with it, as a way of apologizing for my lateness. Sakyou," he turned to the second speaker with the veil, "as promised. Here."

She couldn't see what was handed off, but with a quick nod the other four took flight. _Well well, _she thought, using the back of her hand to wipe away the blood that had trickled down from the corner of her mouth, _perhaps I'm not meant to be dead yet after all. I'll show you what happens when you underestimate an unknown opponent. _

The familiar feline mask turned to look in her direction.

_This mistake will cost you your life, Daigo._

"Kakashi, how many have you beaten?"

Maito Gai's voice rang out above the cacophony of death that filled the chuunin exam arena. Metal met with metal and pierced the air, and another explosion filled the pristine afternoon with clouds of dust and various pieces of the human anatomy. It was a bloodbath.

Hatake Kakashi glanced over at the purple barrier that appeared to touch the clouds. It was filled with a thick, swirling darkness, opaque, so that no one could see the battle raging inside it's four corners. _Hokage-sama…_

"Hey, pay attention! Daydreamers lose their heads first!"

One of the Sound ninjas appeared at the periphery of Kakashi's vision and thrust a kunai into his abdomen.

There was a slight popping noise, and the Sound shinobi found his kunai embedded deeply into a wedge of wood. The last thing he heard above the noise around him was: "You're wrong. Ninjas who don't know how to surprise an enemy often lose their heads first."

He felt the cold bite of metal at the base of his neck – and then, nothing.

Kakashi stepped away from the body and resumed his fighting stance. _They just keep coming…maybe it was a mistake to send those three out into the middle of this. It's like bees swarming over a hive._

Already he was moving again, almost automatically. It had been two rushing him this time, but he'd been anticipating the attack. He caught the first with a punch to the stomach, sidestepped the second's slash, and dealt him an elbow jab beneath the jaw. Judging from the blood they'd coughed onto the floor, neither would be standing up soon.

"Twenty-two," Kakashi said, wiping his kunai clean on one of the crumpled forms at his feet.

"Hmm," Gai grunted, as he kicked one of the Sound shinobi over the railing, "it seems I win again. That was my twenty-third."

There was a sudden movement behind Gai, but before either he or Kakashi could react, the Sound shinobi stumbled backwards, his blank eyes staring off into an oblivion that only dead men can see. A kunai rested deeply between his eyes.

"This isn't the time for that," snapped Yuhi Kurenai. She was one of the newest jounin, but already she'd grown tired of the apparent rivalry between Gai and Kakashi.

Kakashi casually glanced back down at the ninja with the blade between his eyes. _It's because of things like this that I'm thankful we're allies, Kurenai._

In front of him, Gai ran towards two Sound ninjas who were climbing to their feet.

Kakashi lost interest in him, however, when an ANBU appeared on the railing, the bloodstained mask staring ominously out at him from the folds of its hood. _It seems to be injured, _Kakashi noted. _But this could still mean trouble for us if it is part of the Sand or the Sound, and decides it wants to fight – especially if the other joins it. _

Throughout the battle, Kakashi's gaze had returned continuously to the original ANBU, which, until that point, had been standing off to the side, watching the fight progress. Perhaps _analyzing _was a better word. It made no difference to him, however, because he had little doubt as to who was hiding under that mask. He'd used the same trick before. Kakashi found it repulsive, that filth like that would be hiding under something so sacred to Konoha. _When the rest of these shinobi are cleared up, I'll kill him._

"You're late, Daigo," the imposter-ANBU said, turning to the new arrival.

The other said nothing, but turned to the speaker and extended its right arm as if it were brandishing a sword.

A cold laugh erupted from behind the imposter's porcelain mask.

"My, my," the imposter-ANBU said, shaking its head. "You really are something else. But how did you escape?"

Silently, the other lifted it's left hand up and began to form seals.

Before he could watch their completion, however, Kakashi felt three Sound ninjas stand up behind him. One had already moved to attack, but stopped mid-stride when a kunai, which had sailed by Kakashi, so close to his ear that he could hear it's whistle, lodged itself into the ninja's chest. Affixed to it was an explosion seal, and as the man stumbled back into the other two, Kakashi gathered his chakra into his legs and jumped to the side – just before the three of them were engulfed in a ball of flame.

Disgruntled, Kakashi turned to face in the direction the blade had come, and found that the only people behind him were the two ANBU. But neither looked as if they'd moved a fraction of an inch towards him. The second was still forming seals.

"You can't kill me, I'm afraid," the first said, stepping closer. "Not after – everything that's happened."

"Another step and you'll have done it yourself," the other, perhaps most surprisingly, _female, _voice retorted. Certainly, this was not the Daigo the other ANBU had expected. _But that doesn't mean she's an ally._

At once the seals were complete, and her right hand burst into flame. But as Kakashi watched, he saw it lengthen, and twist until it formed what looked like a sword…_made of flames. _Sure enough, once the flames had settled into their set form, the edge was only an inch away from the imposter-ANBU's heart.

"It seems that this past year has made you colder. It's truly unfortunate things happened the way they did… but I will not fight you here." _Kakashi has been watching me for too long for him to doubt who I am, _Yakushi Kabuto thought to himself._ If I show him my moves now, he'll just copy them. I'll play with you another time, Amara…that is, if you don't die here._

The imposter-ANBU jumped backwards.

This seemed to infuriate the second ANBU, and she darted forward, closing the gap with well-timed jabs and slashes, so that she had the other ANBU completely on the defensive.

_I see what you're doing, _Kakashi thought, watching her as she drove the other back towards the wall. _But he is too smart for that to work, I think._

Sure enough, the male ANBU launched himself off the wall the moment his heel touched it, and he was driving her back with just as vicious an attack with his kunai. They were climbing the stairs now, she, parrying, he, continuously thrusting into open space that she'd occupied moments before.

_He might surpass me yet, _Kakashi mused. _Perhaps now I should…_

But more Sound shinobi had arrived, and he returned his attention to the fight at hand.

A sudden yell and the smell of burnt flesh caused Kakashi to turn back to where the other two had been fighting, and while doing so he caught the attacking Sound ninja in the temple with the butt of his kunai. The ninja fell, and in the momentary lapse of attacks, Kakashi surveyed the situation. The imposter was slightly bent over, clutching his arm, while the other, the one wielding the flame sword, slowly raised it over her head. If he were going to interfere, he'd have to do it now. Likely, Morino Ibiki would want to spend some time with the imposter, and Kakashi wasn't about to deprive him of that pleasure.

"Don't you realize, killing me isn't going to do anything," the first wheezed.

Obviously the sword didn't only deal physical damage. To Kakashi's sharingan, it blazed even brighter. _So…it's all chakra, _he thought as he blocked a punch from an attacking ninja. With a grunt, he concentrated his chakra into his free hand and drove a hard right hook into the side of the ninja's face. Bone crumbled beneath his fist. _Copying Gai's taijutsu has been useful, it seems._

It was only then that he noticed that the remaining ninjas still standing were the five Konoha jounins and the two ninjas dressed as ANBU.

"You were too late," the injured one said, and then laughed. "Your mission failed. The Hokage is _dead_."

A cold dread gripped at Kakashi's stomach, and he turned back to the barrier. The darkness had faded, but he could only make out shadows within it. Nothing moved.

"Then at least you can give him my apologies…_in person_," the other snarled. In one sweeping movement the blade of flames fell…

…and then disappeared.

The female ANBU was paralyzed, clutching at her robes just above her heart. Rich crimson began to spill out from beneath her mask, staining the concrete floor beneath her with red tears.

The other straightened up. "It seems your body is beaten," he said softly. "At least my unpleasant job is taken care of for me." He turned his back on her to look at the barrier. "It looks like it is time to say my farewell."

He turned back to her and slowly began to close the gap between them, until they were inches apart. He bent to whisper something in her ear, but at Kakashi's distance it was inaudible to him.

Then, with surprising speed from someone with an injured arm, his hand shot out in front of him and hit her square in the chest, sending her reeling backwards…_and out of the hole in the concrete wall behind her._

At once, all five jounins began to move, but the imposter-ANBU had already cleared the stairs and had jumped over the railing before any of them could stop him. His agility and speed were easily at ANBU level, Kakashi noted, but of his other abilities, he'd given him no signs. _That bastard, he knew I was watching him._

The five jounins became aware, then, of the oppressive silence that had settled over Konoha. Turning towards the inner arena, they beheld the totality of the carnage for the first time. Kakashi was no stranger to death, but even he was ill prepared for the scene below him.

Bodies of Konoha, Sand and Sound shinobi littered the field that had been a place of hopes and dreams for young genin and their countries alike not hours before. Above them, an eagle screamed its sorrow.

"That is…" Gai began, his voice, undisturbed by explosions and fighting, sounding strange to Kakashi's ears.

"Finally…eh?" Kakashi said softly. He turned back to the hole in the stadium's wall – the one Sakura and Naruto had made their exit from. "Well, I suppose we'd better find out who that woman was."

"I'll do it," Kurenai said, and then leapt over the sleeping civilians and lifeless bodies of Sound ninjas. She stopped at the gaping hole, however, and then turned back to face the other four.

"The body is gone."


End file.
